In the grand tapestry of life, there are times of immense joy and heartbreaking sorrow. One such moment occurs when a newborn child dies during or shortly after birth, and it can leave families with grief and a sense of loss that will never go away. One group of women offers hope in this most difficult time by lovingly transforming donated wedding dresses into angel gowns.
The angel gowns are given to families to honor their child and help them remember the special day they lost their little one. They can be worn for photos or for burial. Many of the women who make them are volunteers, and they give their time to support those grieving the loss of an infant. They are often also seamstresses who make a living by sewing clothing, and they use their skills to offer these beautiful gowns to the parents of infants who die before, during or after birth.
These angel gowns are made from the silks, satins and lace of wedding dresses that would otherwise be discarded. They are adorned with pearls, beads and embroidery. For girls, the gowns are made into dresses; for boys, they are adorned with tiny bow ties or vests. The volunteers also make blankets and caps to match each gown. They also sew prayer shawls for those who are ill or bereaved. They work quietly, without much fanfare.
Edith Kalahar, a retired grandmother from Lansing, Michigan, is among those who volunteers. She read about the project in a newspaper and was inspired to help. A seamstress, she began to transform donated wedding dresses into memorial and burial gowns for babies who die in Sparrow Hospital’s NICU. She started to recruit friends and co-workers at her job as a cardiovascular surgery nurse in Mayo Clinic’s cardiovascular surgery ICU to join her effort.
Now, she and other seamstresses from throughout the country — including those in Ohio — work to create these little treasures, which are distributed to hospitals, birthing centers and funeral homes free of charge for families who need them. The gowns are part of Touching Little Lives, a non-profit that serves grieving parents by providing gifts for their angel babies.
Each gown costs about $100 to make, and Touching Little Lives sends them to about 50 hospitals in Ohio and a few in other states. When a hospital requests a shipment of angel gowns, Bauer is one of the first people they contact.
Currently, she sews the gowns at her home, and she will soon be able to move to a new location that will enable her to increase production. She has a waiting list of more than 100 dresses. She is always looking for more supplies, such as yarn and lap blankets to go with the gowns.
If you’re interested in donating a dress, click here for more information. You can also donate money to purchase embellishments such as ribbon, fabric ribbon, thread, sew-in Velcro and soft fleece.